đ Up next
Netherlands
Sprint Weekend
FP16d 3h
Cadillac F1 CEO Dan Towriss says rumours linking the team with young drivers for a potential 2027 race seat are ânot substantiatedâ, while stressing that âthings can always changeâ in Formula 1. Towriss said: "I'll throw the caveat though. It's Formula 1. Things can always change. There are no changes planned at the moment for '27, but things can always change. I know there's been some of the rumours out there with some of the young drivers. They're not substantiated, so that's not something I would focus on."
Toto Wolff says it is âtoo earlyâ to call Kimi Antonelli the Formula 1 title favourite despite the Mercedes driver holding a 50-point lead at the midpoint of the season, pointing to the number of races still to come and his teamâs reliability. Toto Wolff said: "It's too early to say. I'm superstitious. Even though the gap is 50 points, there are so many races to go. A DNF or two can just swing things massively, and we've not been great on reliability."
McLaren Racing Director Randeep Singh said a change in leadership under Zak Brown and team principal Andrea Stella has removed a âblame cultureâ at the team, which he credits with empowering staff as McLarenâs revival led to a double championship last season. Singh said: "The main thing is just the leadership changed with Andrea and Zak, and I think that's just empowered everyone to go about their jobs. There's no blame. There's none of that here. You just get on with constantly improving. Good things, bad things, and you treat them the same way. So that's really empowering."
Colton Herta says his first Formula 2 season has been an âeye-openingâ experience, with adapting to Pirelli tyres without blankets the biggest challenge as he targets a potential Formula 1 race seat with Cadillac. Herta said: "I would say the tyre [is the biggest challenge]. I think the Pirelli, specifically coming from cold, without having the tire blankets, it's quite particular. If anything, it kind of sets you up nicely because it's easier when you get to Formula 1, because once you have the tyre blankets, it's all about maintaining temperature, not bringing it from whatever it might be, 30, 40 degrees, to what it gets to. So if anything, I think it simplifies it a little bit."
Liam Lawson says his unusual route into Formula 1, joining as a reserve and filling in for races, has left him feeling less experienced than people might assume despite having been around the sport for a long time. Lawson said: "I came into Formula 1 in a very strange way compared to most other people. I came in as a reserve, filling in for some races. I did that sort of for two seasons before I even got my initial shot. So yeah, I have a different introduction to F1 than most people, and it's meant that I've actually been in the sport for quite a long time. So I definitely don't feel very experienced, but I guess maybe I'm viewed that way."
Arvid Lindblad's manager Oliver Rowland says Liam Lawson has been the "perfect benchmark" for the 19-year-old alongside him at Racing Bulls in Formula 1. Rowland said: "He is the perfect benchmark for us. I mean, this guy has got more experience, is a little bit older. He's also very, very calm, and there are no games going on, which is really, really refreshing, actually, for someone so young, and it just helps the team focus on what they want to do."
PlanetF1.com reports that Formula 2 leader Nikola Tsolov will complete his first Formula 1 test later this month with Racing Bulls at Imola, driving the teamâs 2025 VCARB02 under Testing of a Previous Car rules alongside its final filming day of the year. Tsolov, who does not yet have the FIA Super Licence, is being given the outing to build mileage, with Racing Bulls CEO Peter Bayer previously saying the team was considering a TPC test because he âneeds a licence to drive in Friday practice sessionsâ and is âstill lacking a few kilometresâ.
King Willem-Alexander will present the winnerâs trophy at this yearâs Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, marking his first official visit to a sporting event in the Netherlands to hand over a prize. He and Queen MĂĄxima have attended the race regularly since its return in 2021, but previously only in a private capacity. The Dutch Grand Prix runs from 21-23 August and is set to be Zandvoortâs final appearance on the F1 calendar before it drops off in 2027.
Sergio Perez says Cadillac have to ârethink all of our processesâ because he feels the team has not developed the car strongly enough this season. Perez said: "It's been very difficult for us to develop. I think we haven't developed basically enough. And so, we obviously have to rethink all of our processes to make sure that we are able to develop a lot stronger, because in Formula 1 it's all about developing. I think it's where we are lacking a bit. Obviously, being a new team, probably we haven't developed as much as we would have liked."
Mercedes technical director James Allison said the team is now âout of phaseâ with rivals on updates because it left development of its 2026 car later than ever to pack as much performance as possible into its launch package. Allison said: "We've been filling up our tanks to give more, and we're a bit out of phase. And our development program, as a result of arriving early, is now running a race or two after the update rates of the others. And so with that, being out of phase half a step with the development cycle means that you can have half a second like we did at the start of the year. One development cycle will bring that to nothing."
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella says reserve driver Leonardo Fornaroli is showing âgreat maturityâ in his approach to Formula 1 as the reigning Formula 2 champion waits for an opportunity. Stella said: "Leo is showing great maturity in his approach to F1. So far, he's always been very meticulous and attentive in the run-up to each test, never overdoing it but instead working step by step with great diligence. Our engineers are very pleased with how he is progressing at every test and how he performed in the two Free Practice sessions he took part in, first in Barcelona and then in Budapest."
Franco Colapinto says Alpineâs step forward since the Miami Grand Prix has come from the team getting its overall package working better and improving consistency in energy management, after he struggled to understand his lack of lap time in the opening races. Colapinto said: "I don't know if something was wrong, but when we put the entire package together after the first three rounds, everything just improved and the half-a-tenth that I was losing per corner was gone. Yes, I think energy management is a key element that we are really consistent with now."
Mercedes technical director James Allison says the team must decide when to stop developing its current car and switch focus to next year, warning that calling time too early can make the final part of the season âvery uncomfortableâ. Allison said: "Every Formula One team faces the same dilemma at some point in the season: when do you stop developing the current car and switch your focus fully to next year? The difficulty is that development rates are still exceptionally high. If you stop too early and your competitors continue finding performance, the final part of the season can become very uncomfortable. Our job is to judge that moment correctly."
Mercedes reserve driver Frederik Vesti said Mercedesâ 2026 car âis specialâ and gives drivers confidence, after recalling Lewis Hamilton warning him in 2022 that he was about to drive the âworst carâ the team had built. Vesti said: "I remember the first time I jumped into Lewis Hamilton's car, and he looked at me five minutes before jumping in, and he was like, 'Oh, you're unlucky! You're driving the worst car we've built,' in '22. We've only become better since then. Then to finally drive it, I can really feel that it is special, and it does give confidence, especially in high speed. It's a great car."
Fernando Alonso says Formula 1 needs to make fixes and improvements to the power-unit algorithms that control battery energy deployment under the current regulations. Alonso said: "But yes, I think with these current regulations and the battery deployment, there is something that has to be fixed and improved [with the algorithms]. There are things moving forward, and it's well understood by the sport, by the teams and by everyone. I'm optimistic for the future that it will get better and that it will be better understood what the rules are and what the cars need to be."
Charles Leclerc says adapting to Formula 1âs 2026-generation cars is not as simple as changing driving style because the data no longer gives clear answers, with performance depending on how different systems interact. Charles Leclerc said: "I think it really depends also on the power unit and the way everything is set up. That's why it's so difficult with these cars. There are so many different variables that it's not like in the past where you could look at the data and say, 'This is clearly where I'm losing, this is clearly what I've got to change with my driving.' If you are changing your driving, but the programming is going the other way, you end up being a lot worse than what you were at first."
Mattia Binotto says reported interest from Carlos Sainz underlines the credibility of Audiâs Formula 1 project and shows it is âgoing in the right directionâ. Binotto said: "I think, in the end, it is bringing credibility to our project. If people are interested in our team, I think it means people perceive that the team is doing seriously whatever we are doing at the moment, and they perceive that our project has a clear ambition and is going in the right direction."
FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis said the governing body needs to look at improving its ADUO performance-balancing system, despite insisting its first checkpoint measurement was âvery accurateâ, after Red Bull were surprised to be rated as having the best internal combustion engine. Tombazis said: "I think our measurement, in my opinion, has proven to be very accurate. With that said, has everything worked fine? No, because obviously people are not happy and so on. Do we need to think about improvements in the future? Yes, I would say so."
Lewis Hamilton says he is âcompletelyâ upset that the 2026 style of racing has diminished the challenge at circuits such as Suzuka, Silverstone and Spa, leaving him missing the âpressureâ thrill of wheel-to-wheel combat. Hamilton said: "No, it completely upsets me. These are the tracks that I look forward to. Monaco is a stunning place and an amazing track for a qualifying lap, no matter what car you drive. But it is the least enjoyable race because you can't overtake. My excitement is not qualifying; it is racing⌠battling with people and wheel-to-wheel racing⌠the pressure, defending and all that kind of stuff."
Stefano Domenicali says it is his âdutyâ to do what is best for Formula 1 after drivers openly criticised the sportâs new technical regulations. Domenicali said: "We are not here to put tape on the mouth of anyone. I mean, the beauty of a sport is that everyone can have an opinion, but the opinion is an opinion. There is someone who has the duty to have a line... But I have the duty to make a summary of what is best for the sport."
Get the full feed, faster alerts, and the stories worth following on your phone.
